Saudi Arabia women are now loading spy ware used by many malicious hackers in the U.S. Why install software onto your computer that actually harms it and that people pay to avoid? The truth is a bit grim; to monitor their cheating husbands. The Saudi Arabian culture is much different than the U.S.’s, and over there, the women citizens hold very little power. They do what they can though, and tired of their husband’s growing infidelity, they have decided to take charge. Their actions are a double-edged sword; they are harming their computer, but are getting indelible evidence of their spouse’s cheating for it. This spy ware they are using is designed to collect all sorts of information from a web session, including all sorts of information that was supposedly deleted by the original user. The wife can then collect this information through the server, and use it to confront their significant other, and have some infallible proof of their dishonesty.

Although this is an extreme use of spy ware, it is happening not just in Saudi Arabia. Many people in the United States use these programs as well, but for more insidious means. In the U.S., we call these people hackers, and they often are thought about and fretted over by Internet users. These are the people who can access someone’s system from states away, and while inside, steal all their information pertaining to online sites, and especially bank accounts. The victim’s bank account will be run dry while they are still at work, and on the way home when they are trying to get some gas, will wonder why their card is cancelled. This is an extreme case as well. They hackers will usually steal an identity and some other bank related information and use it every once and a while. While they are making small withdrawals every once in a while, the victim is less likely to notice than once huge cash run.

Your location (that’s right; in real life!) can be found in many ways. People can search your name on Google and possibly pick up where you live, or they could just take a look in the phone book and find your phone number. These numbers can be traced or perhaps they will just impersonate someone in order to get you to give them your address. This is all pretty common stuff in today’s society. There is one way, and possibly the easiest way, that people don’t realize that can truly compromise your identity.

It comes from the least likely of sources; your computer. Your computer has an IP address, which is like a virtual nametag that includes information such as your browsing history, your location, and possibly an open portal to your hard drive. From your hard drive a hacker could have access to your computer and all of its contents; passwords, bank account numbers, etc. From here a malicious hacker could install a virus to crash your system, and this is all done remotely, and through the IP address.

This has never made sense to privacy advocates; why is the IP address totally public? It’s true, your IP address is completely public and can be seen by anyone. They don’t even need any fancy technology either, as there are readily available technologies and even guides on how to find someone’s IP address. Try it, do a quick Google search!

The Australian government recently just finished preliminary testing of a new Internet censoring software, that would limit access to limit age-appropriate content for users. They feel that a big problem today is that people are lying about their age online to get into age-restricted sites. Even games with violence or language in them will be blocked! Instead of bothering with teaching these kids not to do this or instating harsher laws, they just decided to restrict everyone from these sites.

This is previously unheard of, and privacy advocates are having quite a fit over it. It is one thing when an authoritarian nation like China or a turmoil stricken nation like Iran has these massive government censoring acts, but Australia is perfectly democratic and peaceful. Some worry it could be a catalyst for other democratic nations to follow suit.

Nine ISPs ran this trial censoring software on their users, but only those who opted in, and reportedly that was only a handful. Out of the people tested, feedback was positive. They say the system blocked everything it should have, and only a couple had minor complaints.

Anyone who is a music fan or Internet user knows all about the battle the Internet is waging over copyright laws. There are people online who set up peer-to-peer sharing programs that allow users to download each other’s content for free. The catch is that this content is often copyrighted, and not up for sharing amongst many people with the proper company given credit and paid. These Internet user try and take off the virtual price tags so the songs, movies, and just media in general can be downloaded and enjoyed for free by the masses.

While this may seem great for the public who are getting all sorts of media and other things for free, the companies that are unknowingly supplying the media are not as overjoyed. Views have been inharmonious; the public loves free things and the companies want money for their productions.

In today’s world, the Internet is involved in all aspects of life. Whether it be school, social, or work, you are sure there is some sort of computer involvement. People talk on MySpace more than they meet in person, research reports online more than in libraries, and many Americans can make a fortune working from home on the computer. While this seems all good and dandy, the Internet can be a dangerous place also, but not if you remain anonymous. Every danger you would encounter on the Internet is contingent on the fact that the person who is going to do something bad to you has located you and knows who you are.

This is usually done by identifying one’s IP address. The IP address contains a list of browsing history, and often, one’s location. Sometimes, for a skilled hacker, the IP can be a portal to access the mother load of information; the hard drive. You would think the finding someone’s IP address would take N.S.A. level hacking skills, but it doesn’t; in fact, the IP address is totally public. This means that any Internet surfer can find your IP address, and just by copying and pasting it into Google, can the location of your home. Then all they would have to do is use MapQuest and they would be on their way!

Internet television remains one of the most unique and novel concepts deriving from current multimedia advancements. In the past, if we wished to watch a television program you we limited to what aired on your local cable provider’s offerings. Now, thanks to the internet, it is possible to access to literally hundreds of channels all over the globe. So, no matter what type of programming you are interested in, you can surely find it easily online.

Why does this interest me? Let the truth be told: I am an avid television watcher. I am also an avid traveler as well. In the past, traveling to another city could sometimes lead to missing my favorite programs and channels. For example, I once went on a cruise only to discover the cabin’s satellite hookup only carried a limited number of news channels. Since these were not the news channels, I usually watched I decided to plug in my laptop and watch my favorite channel’s news stream on the internet.

However, a problem developed? When I tried to access the stream, I discovered the access was blocked. Apparently, the waterways I was traveling in were under the jurisdiction of a nation that BLOCKS access to that particular channel. To say I was annoyed would be a minor understatement. I felt inconvenienced and cheated. Mostly, I felt as if my viewing habits were censored. I wish I had known about change IP proxies back then. I could have viewed my favorite channel without any hassles or restrictions.

There are a couple of ways to surf anonymously on the Internet, but a change IP proxy is by far the best choice. IP changers can cover up your footprints when you are surfing a competitor’s site; this way, they can’t block you from keeping track of them.

A change IP proxy server actually changes your IP address, and therefore, cloaks your identity when visiting various sites. The IP changer lets you adopt it’s IP, so that when you go onto a site, it appears as the IP changer, and not you, has logged on. A sophisticated change IP server can actually change your IP address to one that is in a completely different country!

IP Changers can also be used if government censorship is in place. The government will block the site based on its domain name or URL, but change IP proxy servers find a way around this. When you surf from the change IP proxy, there is no record that you visited any other sites other than the change IP proxy one, over and over again.

Remember that even though no one else knows your identity, the IP Changer does. Always be wary of choosing a free or sketchy looking IP changer, as these can violate your security without you even knowing it. If you pick a legitimate, fee-based server though, you will be on your way to safe and anonymous surfing.

A concern once reserved for the paranoid has now become an issue everyone is worried about. I’m sure some of us have had a card cloned, a receipt scraped from a garbage can, or even a couple of unexplained charges.

Well, as people have become more sophisticated in the art of protecting themselves, the criminals have achieved aristocracy, and now have innumerable ways to lie, cheat, and steal. Some people choose to protect themselves via an IP changer. Good move! They go through lists of them; a free one! BAD MOVE.

Running an IP changer costs serious cash, and running a good one costs even more. How do they incur these expenses without going under? Well, the owners of these IP changers can see everything that goes on under their server, so they have bank numbers, log-in names, passwords, etc. You better believe they will use them too… the identity theft victims could testify to that.

Consider the international traveler: going to an unfamiliar place, probably to do business with a strong language barrier, and missing home more everyday. Oh yeah, and the constant blocking of all the sites they need to go on.

These are emotionally charged issues, but the latter is vital to any business occurring at all! For example, if you are a business person, going to foreign countries to conduct negotiations of some sort, communication with your company is a must.

The businessman is now in quite a pickle; he is about to enter a room full of potentially hostile and solid negotiators, and he can’t even reach his peers to know the pertinent issues to discuss! Every time he tried to access the American sites necessary for him to commiserate with his team, he was blocked. Dumbfounded, the talks probably didn’t amount to much, as one party didn’t even know his game plan.

Although the aforementioned scenario is hypothetical, and most people don’t have large deals riding on their Internet access, being censored in a different country can still be quite a nuisance. Take a more pedestrian plight such as homesickness. A quick dissection of the word spells out something every intercontinental traveler can identify with.

The Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, and his government are trying and limit its citizens rights through censorship and blocking, but the Iranians are fighting back; not with violence, but with technology.

Iranians are blogging on FaceBook, sending messages of their protest on Twitter, and Mahmoud Ahadinejad is trying to shut them down. His success is only minimal however; the output of these troubled Iran citizens has increased since the presidential election and the ensuing mass censorship attempt.

Just recently, on Twitter, links and news of peaceful protests coupled with photos have become the most popular searches on Twitter, according to a recent statistic.

Since protesting out in the open can often have deadly effects, some have made Twitter their virtual protest base. One of these silent protesters is Mir Hussein Moussavi. One feed advocating him (Moussavi1388) has almost 7000 fans, and regularly updates news and urging to keep up the fight.

While Twitter isn’t the only medium these e-protests seek safety through, (Mr. Moussavi’s FaceBook page has 50,000 fans) it would be safe to say it is their weapon of choice.